You
have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never
repay you.
John
Bunyan
Wandering across Second Life (SL) for the last
several years has taught me at least one very important lesson. (Significant Other cringes.) That lesson is
that residents inworld are at least as generous as they are in Real Life (RL),
perhaps, even more so. (Significant
Other exhales slowly and looks relieved.)
There’s Relay
for Life and efforts to help
with diabetes. I continue to see
communities come together when one of their own runs into RL issues.
A note of
warning before we go any further!
I happen to
believe in the general goodness of people whether in SL or in RL. I don’t think we’re superior to others
because we can walk by others less fortunate than ourselves who may be lying in
the gutter kidding ourselves that they’ll get out when they feel like pulling
themselves up. Building walls neither
hides the problem nor makes it go away. (Significant Other smiles
approvingly.)
I remember
what I once heard in a RL church during a homily (Yes, they let me in but they do
keep an eye on me.), “The spare coat in your closet belongs to the poor.”
And,
yes. If you think this rant of mine is a
result of the current political situation in my country right now then you’re
correct!
Now, that
that’s over with…
My good
friends at First
UCC in SL are once again sponsoring a RL child from
First UCC
was originally attracted to Children International because they are not a
directly sectarian effort tied to a single denomination. They had strong ratings through charity
tracking sites, and they tied education and skill-building programs into their
outreach efforts. They actively involve
the families of the sponsored children in in-country community efforts. They are not just a
drop-off-the-food-and-clothing kind of place.
They have programs right in the neighborhoods they serve, and they interact
daily with those they're helping.
This year a
seventeen year old girl in Mexico has been identified as the latest beneficiary
of RealReach. She lives with her family
and attends school. But, she needs help
with her school fees. She has waited 216
days for a sponsor. First UCC will pay
$32US per month to support her education.
Now, here’s
where folks like us can help!
On Thursday,
June 16, 2016, at 6:00PM SLT, First UCC will be holding a dance and
If you can
afford to please come by and make a contribution.
If you can’t
afford to make a contribution then please come by any way and lend your moral
support.
I plan on
being there! (Although, Significant
Other suggests that I offer to stay away if it means more people will
contribute.)
Hope to see
you there! (Unless someone makes a
material donation and I’ll stay away!)
I’d like to
thank Jer
Newstart, Becca
Kellstrom, and XMarieX
Fairport for their assistance in preparing this story!
Some of the
photos used in this story are from First UCC and used with the permission of
their ministry.
As always, I’m grateful to all
inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was
passing through their lives.
I can be found on Google+ as
webspelunker Ghostraven.
On Skype I’m webspelunker
Ghostraven.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Open roads
and kind fires!
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